


Asmodeus Is Coming To Town

by Quinn_Coveswena



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Special, Domestic Fluff, Implied activities and innuendos starting in chapter 2, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-24 03:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17093165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinn_Coveswena/pseuds/Quinn_Coveswena
Summary: Max and Rafael write their letters to Santa and learn why it's important to check your spelling twice.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again, my lovelies! I never expected to be writing a special Christmas work, but life is funny that way. I was inspired by "Santa Asmodeus" written by Intoxic as part of the 2018 ShadowAdvent collection.
> 
> I hope that you enjoy it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thank you to lxghtwoodlxve for beta reading this chapter.

Christmas was always big in the Lightwood-Bane household. Every year they pulled out all the stops: lights; garlands; a ginormous Christmas tree dripping in an assortment of ornaments and golden tinsel; and a fireplace lined with stockings with a Yule Log burning inside. Not to mention that Magnus always made sure to have some strategically placed mistletoe hanging about. T'was the season of giving, after all.

 

The festivities only grew after their children came along. When Alec and Magnus adopted Rafael and Max they agreed right away to incorporate all of the standard traditions one associates with Santa Claus. The boys would put together their Christmas lists, search the loft every day to find what trouble their Elf on the Shelf, Mr. Pickles, had gotten up to overnight, and set out a plate of milk and cookies (with some carrots for the reindeer) on Christmas Eve. They even went to visit Santa Claus at Macy’s, which had involved Magnus developing quite the clever glamour for his little blueberry the first time his sons demanded to go.

 

As was typical of most children on Christmas mornings, Max and Raf would run into their fathers’ bedroom, dive onto the bed, and declare that it was time to open presents before the sun was even up.

 

This year, instead of having his Dad or Papa pen his letter to Santa, Rafael stubbornly decided that he was going to write it himself. Wanting to be just like his big brother, Max proclaimed that he too would be doing the same. Magnus and Alec shared an amused look and silently prayed that whatever their boys handed back to them would be legible.

 

“Do you always have to copy me?” Raf asked his brother in an annoyed voice. At eight years old he had reached the age where you start to find everything your younger siblings do irritating.

 

“Do you always have to copy me?” Max parroted back. At six years old he had reached the age where you start annoying your older siblings for fun.

 

“Quit it!” Raf snapped at him. Max stuck his tongue out back at him.

 

“Hey!” Alec cautioned, not wanting to see a fight break out between the young Shadowhunter and warlock. “Santa is watching, remember? And Mr. Pickles too.”

 

The boys turned their heads to look at the elf who was currently caught in the middle of a zip line that stretched from the top of the Christmas tree all the way to Magnus’s former drink counter. “We’re sorry, Dad,” they apologized, looking back at Alec. He knelt down beside them and pulled them both in for a hug.

 

Magnus couldn’t help but smile at his beautiful family. “Here we are!” he announced as he conjured up the writing supplies for his sons. He handed them each a pad of paper and a pen. “Thank you, papa!” Max and Rafael replied, giving him a hug too.

 

Raf took the materials Magnus had just given him and headed into the bedroom he shared with Max. Two seconds later his little brother was right there too. He rolled his eyes and reminded himself that he needed to be good or else making this list would be pointless. He flopped onto his bed and started composing his letter:

 

_Dear Santa,_

_I have been very good this year even though sometimes I fight with my brother because he’s annoying. I will be better about not getting annoyed with him next year because I will be older and more grown-up. I have learned many runes this year and am doing very good at training to be a Shadowhunter like dad. This year I want my own Stele, new fancy clothes like papa’s, a necklace like aunt Izzy’s that tells me when demons are around, a guitar, and another pair of light-up sneakers cus the lights stopped working on mine again, and more Marvel movies please._

 

_Thank you and Merry Christmas,_

_Rafael Santiago Lightwood-Bane_

 

“Hey, Raf?” Max called from over on his bed. He had just finished writing his own letter. “Can you read mine and tell me if Santa will like it?” Rafael nodded and went over to sit next to him. Max handed it to him and eagerly watched him read through it.

 

_Dear Satan_

_my name is Max LightwoodBane and I am very xcited for Christmas. I hope you come to our house and giv me and Raf lots of presents cus we have been very good. I want a super big box of crayans and lots of books and magic books like papa and markers to draw runes on me like dad and dinosors and superheros and things to play with Raf._

_Mary Christmas love Max_

 

Rafael cringed slightly at the writing, but the last thing on Max’s list made him smile. “You spelled ‘Santa’ wrong, but it’s ok.”

 

Max pouted. “No, I didn’t.”

 

“It’s fine, Max. I can write your letter again the right way. Would you like that?” Max nodded enthusiastically.

 

Carefully Rafael copied his little brother’s list down onto a new piece of paper, fixing the spelling of multiple words as he went. When he was done Max gave him a big hug as a thank you and they took their letters back out to their fathers. Magnus and Alec read them over and smiled when Max told them how Rafael had helped him.

 

With a dramatic flourish, Magnus sent the letters off to “the North Pole” just as he did every year. The boys always watched the process with wonder and fascination. Papa must be pretty powerful to be able to send their letters directly to Santa himself. Most kids had to mail theirs.

 

Watching his Papa send the letters out this year gave Max an idea. While his fathers and big brother were making hot chocolate and popcorn he slipped back into his and Raf’s bedroom and found his original letter. Since he was a warlock, he had magic too, just like Papa. And he and Papa trained every day, just like Raf trained with Dad and the other Shadowhunters. So maybe he’d be able to send this letter to Santa the same way Papa did! Maybe Santa would even bring him twice as many gifts.

 

It was worth a shot.

 

He closed his eyes, scrunched up his nose, and tried to mimic Magnus’s movements. When he opened his eyes he watched in delight as the letter dissolved into red sparks.

 

This was going to be the best Christmas ever!

 

***

 

Down in Edom, Asmodeus sat on his throne reading a book from one of the numerous stacks piled around the throne room. As he turned the page, a piece of paper fluttered down through one of the holes in the ceiling, coming to land on the book.

 

He used his magic to inspect it first before touching it. “Definitely warlock magic,” he murmured to himself. Sensing that it was entirely harmless, he picked it up and began to read the contents. He laughed when he saw who the intended recipient was supposed to be, but paused immediately after he read who the letter was by.

 

 _Max Lightwood-Bane_.

 

Asmodeus hummed to himself after he finished reading. “So I’m a grandfather now, am I? I suppose I should pay them all a visit this year to wish them a Merry Christmas.”

 

After all, the holidays are meant to be spent with family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone. Thank you so much for reading <3
> 
> I love hearing people's feedback, and I try to respond to every comment you all make :)
> 
> And one more tremendous thank you to everyone who has shown some love to "With You" and "Even When I'm Mad At You." It really helps to boost not only my confidence as a writer but my overall self-confidence as well. Thank you all so much! <3<3<3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Santa isn't the only one who pays the Lightwood-Banes a visit Christmas Eve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I didn't expect to get this chapter finished so fast, but I'm so happy that I did! I also realized that it would take three chapters to wrap up everything that I wanted to. You may have also noticed that I changed the rating too. There are going to be innuendos and implications of more "mature" behavior and activities from here on out, and I just wanted to be safe. 
> 
> Thank you so much to the amazing Nan_ette for being my beta for this chapter <3 and to everyone who left comments on the last chapter. I loved reading them so much! <3<3<3
> 
> And thank you, lovely reader, for reading this story. You're awesome! :)

T'was the night before Christmas at the Lightwood-Bane house. On Christmas Eve everyone was allowed to open one small present before bed. Max quickly grabbed what looked like a wadded up ball of wrapping paper covered in what must have been half a roll of tape with a bow on top and ran over to his Papa with it.

 

“I wrapped it myself, Papa” he informed Magnus, clearly quite proud of himself. Alec had to cover his mouth to keep himself from laughing. He could practically hear the thoughts going through his husband's head.

 

“Thank you, my little blueberry,” Magnus said with a smile. Max grinned back at him, showing off the hole where he had just lost his first tooth the week before. Magnus and Alec may or may not have gotten a bit emotional over the realization that their youngest was growing up.

 

“Open it!” Max demanded. Magnus grimaced slightly as he set about trying to get all of the tape off. Max didn't like when he used his magic to open gifts, so he had to take the hands-on approach.

 

Finally, after stripping away all of the tape and wrapping paper, Magnus held a bottle of dark blue nail polish in his hand. “Aunt Izzy helped me pick it out,” Max told his Papa. “It's the same color blue I am!”

 

Magnus's heart swelled, and he scooped his son up onto his lap and held him tight. “I love it, Max. Thank you.” Max hugged him back before wriggling out his father's arms to go find one of his own presents to open.

 

In the time it had taken Magnus to open Max's gift, Rafael had presented Alec with his gift for his Dad. It was a black pillow covered in black sequins. When you ran your hand over them they flipped over and became the colors of the rainbow. This time it was Magnus's turn to hold back his laughter.

 

Magnus and Alec held each other on the couch while the boys sat by the tree unwrapping their gifts. Max squealed with delight to find he had gotten the Spider Gwen toy he had been begging for. Alec watched Rafael try to subtly wipe his eyes after he opened the tiny box he had chosen and found that it contained an ear cuff nearly identical to Magnus's that was just his size.

 

“Thank you!” the boys cried and they ran over to the couch to hug their dads.

 

After cleaning up the scraps, it was time to set out the milk, cookies, and carrots before heading off to bed. Max and Raf couldn't agree on one type of cookie to put out, so the plate contained sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and some of the Christmas Oreos with the red frosting.

 

However, both brothers were able to agree that they should leave out a glass of chocolate milk because plain milk was boring and Santa deserved better.

 

They wanted to leave out enough carrots for each reindeer to be able to have their own, but Magnus and Alec convinced them that four was plenty.

 

They tucked the boys into bed and read them The Night Before Christmas as a bedtime story, alternating back and forth. When Max and Raf began nodding off, they kissed them goodnight.

 

Once the boys were sound asleep, Magnus portaled the boy's gifts into the living room, and he and Alec started to stack them under and around the Christmas tree. Afterwards, they filled up the stockings with Christmas candy and Magnus made sure that the Yule Log was set to burn through the night. It would help reinforce his wards against demons and to keep away any meddlesome creatures from the Seelie Realm that liked to cause trouble this time of year.

 

After they had each take a bite out of a cookie and a sip of milk, Alec tugged Magnus by the lapels of his shirt underneath the nearest sprig of mistletoe. They grinned at one another before leaning into an intimate lingering kiss. Holding each other close, they basked in the heat of the fire and love they felt for one another and their family. Because of the crazy world they lived in with danger that always seemed to lurk just around the corner, Magnus and Alec always took the time to cherish moments like this when everything was beyond perfect. Magnus and Alec had a beautiful relationship, beautiful children, and, despite the craziness and danger, a beautiful life.

 

When the kiss started to pick up in intensity and hands began wandering and a heat that had nothing to do with their proximity to the fireplace and everything to do with their proximity to one another, Alec pulled back, causing Magnus to chase after his husband’s lips. “As much as I really like where this is headed…” he trailed off with a half-smile.

 

“We need to get some sleep while we can,” Magnus said, finishing his thought. They both knew full well that their sons got up at 5 am like clockwork on Christmas mornings and all privacy went out the window.

 

“Tomorrow night,” Alec said decidedly. Max and Rafael typically crashed around 8:00-8:30 and slept in late on the 26th, all of the Christmas excitement and lack of sleep from the day before having caught up to them. Magnus and Alec, however, tended to be high off of Christmas cheer long into the early morning, using the excess energy to celebrate in their own way. One of the sacrifices they had to make when they became parents was to cut their _adult_ _festivities_ shorter and move them from in front of the fireplace to behind the locked door to their soundproofed bedroom. They kept the mistletoe though.

 

“Tomorrow night,” Magnus agreed with a suggestive look in his eyes. He had all manner of things in mind for their celebration of each other.

 

Alec shook his head and laughed as quietly as he could so as not to wake the children and spoil the secret of Santa Claus for them so soon. “Come here,” he said, taking hold of his husband’s hand and lead him towards their room. “I need you to keep me toasty.” Magnus followed along with a sappy look on his face. He was all for Christmas cuddles.

 

***

 

After the last two Lightwood-Banes fell asleep (Magnus had felt extra cuddly and was now using his husband as a pillow), a stillness settled over the loft. The silence was broken only by the crackling sound of burning wood coming from the fireplace. But suddenly a harsh wind rushed down through the chimney, extinguishing the Yule Log, leaving the lights on the Christmas tree as the only source of light in the apartment. These too started to flicker as the door to the balcony door slowly swung open. Cold winter air seeped into the room, chasing away the last traces of heat left behind by the fire.

 

Asmodeus stepped inside, cane-first, and made his way over towards the Christmas tree. Magnus’s wards had been strong—much stronger than your average warlock, or even an advanced one. You didn’t earn the title of High Warlock with shoddy magic. His son had even had them reinforced with that nifty hunk of wood too. But Yule Logs were ineffective against a Greater Demon, and not even Magnus, who was arguably the most powerful warlock this side of Edom, could ward against one hellbent on having a family reunion.

 

With the slightest movement of his fingers, the fireplace roared back to life, engulfing what was left of the Yule Log in flames as red as Edom. Letting his cat eyes adjust, he surveyed the loft and the holiday decor. Turning back to the fireplace, he examined the photographs on display along the mantlepiece. The first was a photo taken of Magnus and Alec on their wedding day; it was a candid shot of the two of them just looking into each other’s tear-brimmed eyes and smiling, incredibly sappy, and clearly in love. The next photo was of them standing at the altar as they exchanged rings.

 

Little Max had mentioned two fathers and runes in his letter, but Asmodeus was still surprised to see that his son had married a Shadowhunter of all people. A _male_ Shadowhunter.

 

Asmodeus wasn’t bitter or anything about not receiving an invite. Nope. Not one bit.

 

Next to them was a thin series of photos of the two of them taken in a photo booth. Asmodeus skimmed over the next few photos of whom he presumed were friends and family until he reached one taken of his son and son-in-law holding a small blue baby, clearly another warlock. So this must be the Max. Asmodeus had to admit that the child was pretty cute.

 

He moved on to the last two photos on the shelf. Another older, tan-skinned boy was included in these. _Raf_ , Asmodeus thought, remembering the name from Max’s letter. The second to last photo was of him and a slightly older Max curled up together in a crib. An engraving on the frame captioned it, “First night as brothers.” He couldn’t help but smile.

 

The final picture was a family portrait. Magnus and his husband both had a child in their lap. The older one, Raf, was making an odd face that Max clearly found hilarious. The camera captured his face mid-laugh. Instead of smiling at the camera, both parents smiled down at their boys watching their antics.

 

Asmodeus hummed to himself. His son had left him behind and gone out and put together a whole new family. Magnus was a father now too. Boy did he have a lot to teach him. Young Max had a lot to learn as well. He was already an incredibly powerful warlock to be able to send a message directly to Edom at such a young age. He was a lot like his father in that way.

 

Asmodeus closed his eyes, conjuring the memory of Magnus as a boy. He had spent years trying to hone his son’s raw potential, to tap into the demon blood—the blood of a Prince of Hell—that ran through his veins. He could tell that Magnus had done something similar with his grandson, and that it was Magnus’s teaching that had allowed Max to pull off such a tremendous feat. It filled his heart with pride.

 

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still mad and didn’t feel hurt by Magnus’s actions.

 

Asmodeus knew that it was only a matter of time before Magnus realized he was here. He would be able to sense the source of his magic. Blood calls to blood, after all. Best to settle in and wait.

 

The offering of cookies set out on the hearth caught his attention. Using his cane for balance, Asmodeus bent over and picked the plate up, carrying it over to the couch. He eased himself down onto the couch and propped up his cane beside him.

 

Turning his attention back to the sweets, he plucked one of the cookies off of the plate and took a bite. It was then that he noticed the slip of paper that had been hidden underneath. Setting his cookie aside, he picked it up, his curiosity piqued.

 

Asmodeus let out a deep chuckle as he read what was on it: “For Satan.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Day is full of surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone! Christmas is officially here, and so too is the third and final chapter of this story. It is significantly longer than the previous two, but a lot happens in it. Prepare for some serious feels :)
> 
> Thank you once again to Nan_ette for being my beta. Seriously girl, I adore you <3
> 
> And thank you all so so so much for reading and for keeping up with it. You have given me the best Christmas gift ever!

Max was the first to wake on Christmas morning. He bolted upright in bed and grinned from ear to ear. _Santa came last night_. He didn’t need to do much to wake Rafael up. He jumped out of bed, ran over, and poked his big brother in the ribs. “Raf!” he hissed.

 

Raf rolled over and opened his eyes to see Max standing over him. Any other day he’d have been annoyed at his little brother waking him up. But seeing the giddy look in his little brother’s eye reminded him that this morning was special. It was Christmas.

 

His smile grew like the Grinch’s heart, and he shot up in bed, almost butting heads with Max on accident. Max jumped back just in time. “Sorry!” Raf apologized.

 

“It’s ok!” Max said cheerfully, still bursting with excitement.

 

Raf shared a look with Max and they simultaneously screamed “CHRISTMAS!!!” loud enough to be heard by everyone in the loft.

 

***

 

In the master bedroom, Magnus and Alec groaned as the sound of their offspring woke them up. Blinking away the last remnants of sleep, Alec turned his head to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand. 5:05 AM. Right on schedule.

 

Magnus shifted his weight so Alec could reach over to turn on the small lamp next to the clock. Both men were momentarily blinded as their world of darkness was suddenly filled with light.

 

“Good morning,” Magnus croaked, rubbing his un-glamoured cat eyes.

 

“Morning,” Alec said, still seeing spots. “You ready?” They both knew that they had exactly two minutes to prepare before their bedroom door would be thrown open and they’d be hit by the full body weight of an eight and six-year-old running at top speed.

 

Magnus nodded slightly, still waking up and mentally preparing himself. Despite being curled up into Alexander like a kitten, he still hadn’t slept very well. And now he just felt...weird.

 

Not that he would want to hide them, due to the family rule that no warlock mark need be glamoured when they were at home, but Magnus felt as though his cat eyes would not go away without a fight. Something was very off.

 

He didn’t have time to process this before the door was almost ripped from its hinges and Magnus imagined that he had some semblance of an idea of what Mufasa felt there at the end. Minus the whole familial betrayal thing.

 

“Presents! Presents! Presents!” Max and Rafael chanted, jumping up and down on the bed. Every so often one of their feet would come down on Alec’s long legs.  He winced in pain, gritting his teeth. How such little bodies could hurt the seasoned Shadowhunter he’d never know.

 

Luckily Magnus intervened a millisecond later. “Alright, alright, alright,” he said, sitting up. “If you break Dad’s leg Papa will have to fix it, and then you’ll have to wait even longer to see what goodies Santa has brought you.”

 

That settled them right down. Alec mouthed a silent “thank you” to his husband before Max and Raf got ahold of his arm and started pulling him out of bed. “Get up! Get up! Get up!” they cried.

 

Giving in, Alec rolled out of bed with grace only a Shadowhunter could have. “Boys, wait right here while I get Papa his robe, and then we can go open gifts.”

 

The boys groaned slightly, not wanting to wait any longer to tear open their gifts, but did as Alec said, going over to wait by the door.

 

Magnus admired the view as Alec bent over to pick up his shirt from off the floor. Alec knew full well where his husband’s attention had gone, and he shook his head and laughed as he put the piece of discarded clothing back on. _Never change, Magnus_ , he thought to himself.

 

Magnus held his gaze on Alec’s ass as the man made his way over to the closet. On his way back over, Magnus couldn’t help thinking that this shouldn’t be possible. No one should look as beautiful as his husband does at 5:00 in the morning on Christmas wearing penguin pajama pants the boys had gotten him last year, a shirt they both claimed was their own, and bed-head at full floof.

 

“I love you,” he stated when Alec handed him his festive snowflake-embroidered red silk robe,  the words coming as easy as breathing.

 

“I love you too,” Alec replied, leaning in to kiss him.

 

“You’re taking too long!” Raf whined just as their lips brushed. Magnus and Alec laughed.

 

“I think we’ve kept them waiting long enough,” Alec claimed, helping his husband up.

 

The boys exited the room the same way they had entered, and Alec had to jog to catch up with them. Magnus tied his robe as he followed along behind his family, unable to shake the feeling of unease at the odd buzz he felt. How he wished it was from excitement over opening gifts.

 

***

 

Despite running in at a full-on sprint, Max and Rafael quickly came to a dead stop once they reached the living room. Alec, who was still a few steps them, thought that it was because they were captivated by the sight of all the presents that had appeared overnight. In reality, the two young boys were taking in an entirely different sight.

 

There, standing in front of the Christmas tree was a man they’d never seen before. “Who are you?“ Raf asked, reaching for his brother’s hand. He was supposed to protect him from strangers.

 

“Hello, children,” the man said with a smile. “My name is-”

 

“Asmodeus!” Magnus exclaimed, cat eyes wide with horror and stomach sinking to the floor. How had he not realized what was wrong sooner? His whole family was in grave danger now.

 

Magus didn’t even get the chance to blink at the sudden appearance of his father before Alec had put himself between his sons and the Prince of Hell. The part of his brain not shocked into stasis wondered how on earth Alec had managed to reach his stele and activate his rune for heightened speed before it dawned on him what had he’d just seen happen. This was what the parental instinct to protect one’s children looked like in its rawest form.

 

Alec had one long arm outstretched behind him, pushing Max and Rafael back towards Magnus, even further away from the perceived threat. The second Magnus recovered from the initial shock he had moved to wrap a protective arm around both of them.

 

“How did you get in here?” Magnus demanded.

 

“Hello to you too, son,” Asmodeus greeted him, ignoring the question. “It’s been a few centuries.”

 

“Magnus, take Max and Raf and go.” Alec, urged, not taking his eyes off of Asmodeus.

 

“Alexander,” Magnus gulped, “You can’t be serious.” Was his husband seriously going to take on a greater demon without having so much as a stele on him?

 

“There’s no need for that,” Asmodeus said, taking a small step forward. Alec braced himself to lunge at the demon, ready to do whatever it took to protect his family.

 

Asmodeus took in the sight in front of him. Here stood one of the Nephilim, the sworn enemies of demon-kind, a hairsbreadth away from taking on a Prince of Hell completely unarmed, all to save a warlock. A warlock the Shadowhunter knew to be his current enemy’s son. It didn’t seem to occur to his son-in-law that, should it come to a fight, Magnus would make for the strongest fighter.

 

It was a touching sight.

 

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Alexander. I must say, the name suits you quite well. I admire just how protective you are of my son. My grandchildren as well.”

 

“Father, why are you here?” Magnus asked, conscious of how scared and confused his children must be, and praying that he wasn’t going to lose his husband at any moment.

 

“It’s Christmas time, Magnus. And I wanted to see my family. I wanted to meet my grandchildren.”

 

Magnus didn’t know how (maybe because of that buzzing feeling in his body), but he could tell that Asmodeus had been 100% truthful about his motives. Something about this made him relax just a smidge. “So you aren’t going to hurt anyone?” he pressed.

 

Asmodeus gave him an incredulous look. “Absolutely not. My darling boy, I would never hurt your family. You know how important family is to me. Besides, why ruin such a splendid holiday?”

 

Magnus looked down at Max and Rafael who looked lost and scared, completely different from the cheerful children who had woken up that morning. His gaze slid over to rest on Alec, still poised to strike. At last, both pairs of cat eyes met and stared into the other. It seemed that the entire world held its breath as they did.

 

Finally, Magnus looked away and shook his head slightly. Please don’t let this be a mistake.

 

“Alexander,” he said in a voice much calmer than he felt, “why don’t you and the boys get started on opening gifts while my father and I go have a chat in the other room.”

 

It took all the willpower Alec had not to spin around to see if Magnus had lost his mind completely. Because as much as he wanted to know what the hell was going through his husband’s head, he didn’t want to be caught off guard if Asmodeus decided to try something when his back was turned. Instead, he asked, “Are you sure about this?”

 

Magnus took a deep breath and look at Asmodeus once again. “I need you to trust me on this, Alec.”

 

“Ok,” Alec replied, standing back up and relaxing his posture. He ran his right thumb over the wedding band wrapped around his ring finger, a reminder of the implicit trust they had in one another. He might not know how high the cliff was, but if Magnus said jump, he’d jump, knowing that the feeling was reciprocated.

 

He turned to walk back to Magnus, knowing that he was exposed to a potential sneak attack. When he reached him, Alec studied Magnus’s face to make sure that _he_ was sure of what he was doing. Knowing that the warlock’s mind was made up, he dropped a quick kiss to his husband’s lips before taking hold of Max and Rafael’s hands and leading them past Asmodeus to the pile of presents.

 

Asmodeus had found the entire exchange fascinating.

 

“Shall we?” Magnus asked, motioning for his father to follow him.

 

***

 

Magnus led his father to the room he reserved for meeting with clients. It was also the room he now kept his liquor in. It may be very early in the morning, but if he was going to have to deal with his father, he had a feeling he may want it close by.

 

“Does your husband just let you walk off with someone he prepared to kill?” Asmodeus asked, taking a seat on one of the cushioned chairs. It seemed a total contradiction to his son-in-law’s obvious protective nature.

 

“Oh I’m sure I’ll hear all about it later,” Magnus said, rubbing his temples. He could hear Alec’s barrage of questions already. He knew that his husband wouldn’t be mad with him, he’d just be revealing all of his fears.

 

“Why then?” Asmodeus pressed on. This seemed to him the perfect opportunity to learn more about this critical relationship in his son’s life.

 

Magnus thumbed his wedding ring in much the same way Alec had. After being together so long they had adopted similar mannerisms. After spending several moments calculating how to approach the situation, he decided that full discretion on his end would make this meeting go faster and make it less likely for his father to lie to him.

 

“Because I told him to trust me,” he responded.  “I don’t know if you’re capable of understanding this, but when you love someone the way that Alexander and I love one another, that love comes with an unwavering faith in the other person.”

 

Asmodeus nodded, thinking how he did understand in a way. He chose his next words carefully.  “I may be a demon, but the concept of love is not foreign to me. Our love is all-consuming. It makes us possessive and want to do what is best for the ones we love by any means necessary. It comes with the best of intentions, although I can see how, to someone who doesn’t understand this, it can be damaging.”

 

Magnus was quiet, taking in all of what his father had just said. Suddenly the childhood years spent with his father began to make more sense in a way. He could understand Asmodeus’s reasoning behind why he had done what he did, but, as the demon himself had said, it had been damaging to Magnus. He still suffered from its effects to this day.

 

“You can see,” Asmodeus continued in a soft voice, “how this can hurt the demon in return as well. Especially if that love is rejected.” Magnus had never thought that his father was capable of being this vulnerable. “You left me, Magnus. Banished me. Cut off all communication.”

 

“I was looking after myself,” Magnus said indignantly. He wouldn’t be made to feel guilty over this.

 

“I know,” Asmodeus sighed, his response catching Magnus off-guard. “Magnus, when I came here last night, I saw the photos you and Alexander have out on display. And I saw just how much of your life I had missed out on. You got married, had kids. And if things had turned out differently between us, I’d have been a part of that.”

 

They sat in silence, letting Asmodeus’s confession hover in the air. Trying to lighten the mood he added, “You have to admit that having a Prince of Hell there as a father of the groom with a bunch of Shadowhunters would have made the wedding quite an affair.” Magnus laughed despite himself.

 

“Why now?” he asked once silence had settled between them once more.

 

“Your son, Max.” Asmodeus chuckled.

 

Magnus bristled. “What about him?” he asked cautiously, already in Papa Bear mode.

 

“He sent me a letter. Well, not me exactly. It was addressed to Satan.” Magnus’s eyebrows had never shot up so fast in his life. “Given its contents, I believe that he had meant for it to be a letter to Santa.”

 

“Oh, Max,” Magnus said to himself, shaking his head.

 

“I felt as though a letter from a warlock with “Bane” in their last name falling from the sky straight into my lap was too much of a coincidence to ignore. Your boy is powerful, Magnus. Much like his father. I know that you must be very proud of him. I certainly am. Of both of you.”

 

The silence that followed was the longest yet. Asmodeus watched as Magnus began to pace around the room, lost in thought. He twisted his wedding ring as he went, mumbling to himself.

 

At last, he came to stand in front of Asmodeus, cat eyes meeting cat eyes in an earnest gaze. “I am under no obligation to forgive you for what you did to me,” he began, making sure that his father knew exactly where he stood on the matter. Asmodeus dropped his head to look at the floor. He had thought they were making progress. But maybe that was too much to expect after one conversation. Perhaps he had only gotten his hopes up for some reconciliation between them.

 

“However,” Magnus went on, causing Asmodeus to look back up at him, “if you are serious about being part of my life again, and more importantly, part of my children’s lives, then I will be willing to work on mending fences with you over time. It won’t happen immediately, but I will put in the effort if you will.”

 

Asmodeus smiled. Maybe those rumored Christmas miracles existed after all. “I’d like that very much,” he said. Magnus nodded, knowing that he meant it.

 

“Your communication skills have improved significantly,” he added with a teasing grin.

 

Magnus smiled slightly, more to himself than to his father. “Yeah, well, I’ve had my fair share of practice.”

 

***

 

They left a short while later after discussing what Asmodeus’s stay would look like going forward and even went so far as to plan further communication and potential visits later on down the road. When they arrived back at the living room they found it in a state of chaos. Scraps of wrapping paper were strewn everywhere, and deep enough that it came up to Magnus’s calves.

 

At first, he only saw Max and Rafael, huddled together and giggling loudly over what he assumed was one of their presents, and was confused as to where Alec had gone. Surely he wouldn’t have left them alone. It was when something moved underneath the colorful paper ocean that he realized the boys had buried their father underneath all of it.

 

He hadn’t thought it possible, but Magnus found he loved Alexander just that much more after seeing how far he’d go to get the boys’ holiday cheer back.

 

Magnus left his father’s side to join all three of his boys on the floor. “What have we here?” he asked in an amused tone, kneeling in between Max and Raf. The boys let out an excited “Papa!” at his sudden appearance and hugged him.

 

Alec’s hand emerged from the depths and cleared away the paper that had been covering his face. “Hey, babe.”

 

Magnus wished he had a camera on him to capture the sight. He leaned down to give a kiss his paper-sea merman. “Hiya.”

 

All the paper fell away when Alec sat up. “Don’t worry,” he reassured his husband, “I got it all on videotape.” He knew that Magnus would be disappointed that he had missed everything. Looking over Magnus’s should he saw Asmodeus watching them in observation. “So…” he trailed off, looking back at Magnus.

 

“He’s staying for Christmas,” Magnus informed him. “We’ll keep an eye on him, but he doesn’t intend to hurt us.” Alec nodded, but still understandably looked a bit aprhensive.

 

After doing some magical cleanup and putting on A Charlie Brown Christmas and summoning them some red and green Christmas pancakes for Max and Raf, Magnus pulled Alec and his father aside so that they could all talk. It took _a lot_ of convincing, but eventually, Alec was on board with the plan too.

 

When they went back out to the living room Asmodeus joined his grandsons on the couch while Magnus and Alec sat by the tree to exchange the gifts they had got for each other. They did so frequently looking over their shoulders to make sure their sons were absolutely safe.

 

Rafael had given up watching the movie to focus his attention intensely on the newcomer instead. He had protectively pulled Max onto his lap when Asmodeus sat down beside them, remembering how his Dad and Papa reacted to seeing him earlier.“You have eyes like Papa,” Raf observed out loud.

 

Asmodeus smiled at him. “He gets them from me. I’m your Papa’s father.”

 

“You’re our grandpa?” Raf asked inquisitively. Asmodeus nodded in response.

 

“We have two other grandpas too,” Max said, speaking for the first time. “Grandpa Lightwood and Grandpa Luke.” He turned to look at his new grandpa. “Can you do magic like Papa?” he asked.

 

“He gets that from me too,” Asmodeus replied with a smirk. To prove this he waved his fingers and red sparks danced around them.

 

“Cool!” Max exclaimed, slipping out of Rafael’s lap and into his grandpa’s. “Do more!”

 

Asmodeus patted the blue little boy’s head. “How about I summon the gifts I got for all of you.” With a snap two silver dog whistles appeared in his hand and a black gift bag appeared over by Magnus and Alec. He held the whistle up for both of his grandsons to see.

 

“These are very whistles that the two of you will have to be very responsible with. If you blow one, you’ll summon one of my hellhounds here from Edom. It will be your companion, but it will also be your protector. They will keep you safe when your fathers aren’t around. You can call yours, Max, if you don’t have your big brother there, too. You can even use yours to help you once you start going on missions, Rafael.”

 

Needless to say, Asmodeus suddenly became the coolest grandfather in existence and Magnus and Alec realized that they would need to have a serious talk with him about birthdays. Speaking of inappropriate, Alec had never stashed away a gift so fast in his life when he saw what was in that bag.

 

As they all bid their goodbyes that night, Asmodeus displayed just where exactly Magnus got his sense of dramatic flair from as well, exiting this plane of existence in a glorious blaze of magic and flames.

 

The holidays would sure be interesting when Asmodeus came to town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a happy and safe holiday, lovelies <3
> 
> Thank you for believing in me :')


End file.
